The incident occurred about 9 p.m. Tuesday (March 8, 2005) when West Hawaii Vice Section officers were executing a search warrant on a residence near the 55-mile marker of the Hawaii Belt Road (Route 19) in Waimea.

Vice officers saw a late model Isuzu SUV arrive at the residence. When the officers identified themselves and approached the vehicle, it abruptly reversed in an attempt to flee the scene, striking a fence post, a warehouse and a tractor in the process.

As the officers attempted to apprehend the driver, the SUV started moving rapidly toward one of the officers, and the officer fired one round from his weapon. The vehicle then struck boulders on side of the driveway and stopped, and the occupants were arrested.

The officer who fired his weapon, a 23-year veteran with the Hawaii County Police Department, was not injured in the incident.

The suspects are being held in the Kona police cellblock pending further investigation by East Hawaii Criminal Investigation Section detectives. The Internal Affairs Unit is also investigating the incident, which is standard practice whenever an officer fires his weapon in the line of duty.